Jared Goff's career passing charts show how much he's improved since 2016

It feels like just yesterday that Jared Goff was the first overall pick in the 2016 draft, but here we are three seasons later and the young quarterback is already a two-time Pro Bowler. He’s led the Rams to the postseason in each of the past two seasons, taking big steps forward as he looks to become an elite quarterback.

But just how far along has he come? As a rookie, he was arguably the worst passer in the NFL, going 0-7 with five touchdowns, seven interceptions and 26 sacks in his first seven starts. It wasn’t entirely his fault, considering Jeff Fisher was his head coach and the Rams’ offensive line was atrocious, but it was a difficult start to his professional career, nonetheless.

Here’s a look at his passing grid from 2016, via Next Gen Stats.

In his second season, Goff improved by leaps and bounds, going 11-4 with 28 touchdowns, seven interceptions and completing 62.1 percent of his passes. He made it to the Pro Bowl, leading the league in yards per completion (12.9).

He still had plenty of room for improvement and wasn’t yet considered one of the five or seven best quarterbacks in the league, but it was a major improvement over a near-disastrous rookie campaign.

His passing chart shows significant improvement, too, having an average or above-average passer rating in every area of the field.

This year, Goff got off to a phenomenal start. Through 11 games, he was considered a legitimate MVP candidate with 26 touchdowns and six interceptions, completing 67.7 percent of his passes while averaging 322.5 yards per game. He looked every bit like an elite quarterback, continuing to improve upon a great 2017 season.

And then the Week 12 bye hit and something changed.

Goff’s mechanics were off and he was making uncharacteristic mistakes, throwing one touchdown pass, six interceptions and fumbling it four times in his first three games after the bye. He got back on track in the final two weeks with five touchdowns and no interceptions, completing 68 percent of his throws.

His passing grid still looks great in 2018 – even excluding Week 17 – but one area of the field continues to trouble him.

As you can see from the three grids, the right side between 10 and 20 yards downfield is a trouble spot for Goff. It’s unclear exactly why, considering how reliable Robert Woods has been on that side of the field, but Goff has to get better in that area.

One thing you’ll notice from 2017 to 2018 is the improvement Goff enjoyed throwing to his left, particularly on deep passes. The Rams essentially replaced Sammy Watkins with Brandin Cooks this offseason and the results have been undeniable.

Goff and Watkins struggled to connect on deep passes, as evidenced by his 59.4 passer rating throwing deep left – the side of the field Watkins primarily played. This year, his rating was 91.7, primarily throwing Cooks’ direction.

It’s also worth noting how his passer rating dropped on passes behind the line of scrimmage, which is largely due to the Rams’ screen game being less effective this season than it was in 2017. That’s not Goff’s fault, of course, but it’s a factor that has to be considered.

As a whole, his passing grids are improving by the year, especially on deep passes. One of the knocks on his game last year was throwing downfield and into tight windows, but he’s shown a willingness and ability to do both in 2018.

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